US Attorney Lights Into Reporter Who Asks If Federal Charges In Charlotte Light Rail Murder Are ‘Grandstanding’
'There’s no other side to this'
Trump DOJ takes action against violent thug accused of savagely murdering Ukrainian refugee
Iryna Zarutska, a 23-year-old Ukrainian refugee who aspired to become a veterinarian assistant, was savagely murdered on a train in Charlotte, North Carolina, on August 22. Her suspected killer was charged with first-degree murder but now faces a federal charge that could land him the death penalty.
Footage of the slaying shows Zarutska enter a train on the Lynx Blue Line in Charlotte, sit down in front of a black male in a red-hooded sweatshirt, and then look at her phone.
'We will seek the maximum penalty for this unforgivable act of violence.'
The man behind her, who has been identified as repeat offender Decarlos Brown, can be seen in the footage taking what appears to be a small knife out of his pocket, standing up, then bringing the apparent blade down in a striking motion. The killer can subsequently be heard saying, "I got that white girl," surveillance footage appeared to reveal.
A federal criminal complaint was filed Tuesday in the U.S. District Court in Charlotte, charging Brown with one count of committing an act causing death on a mass transportation system.
Attorney General Pam Bondi said in statement, "Iryna Zarutska was a young woman living the American dream — her horrific murder is a direct result of failed soft-on-crime policies that put criminals before innocent people."
"I have directed my attorneys to federally prosecute Decarlos Brown Jr., a repeat violent offender with a history of violent crime, for murder," the attorney general continued. "We will seek the maximum penalty for this unforgivable act of violence — he will never again see the light of day as a free man."
If convicted, the Department of Justice said that Brown could face life in prison or the death penalty.
FBI Director Kash Patel, who indicated in an X post on Monday that the "FBI has been investigating the Charlotte train murder from day one," noted that "the brutal attack on Iryna Zarutska on the Charlotte Light Rail was a disgraceful act that should never happen in America."
'Federal charges are necessary to protect the public and ensure confidence in our transportation systems.'
When pressed earlier Tuesday for comment on whether the FBI was treating Zarutska's murder as a hate crime, the FBI referred Blaze News to Patel's Monday statement and declined to add anything further.
The federal criminal complaint reiterated that Zarutska died at the scene as the result of multiple stab wounds and noted that a pocketknife was collected from the scene.
The complaint also indicated that Zarutska was stabbed just four minutes after she sat down.
"This brutal attack on an innocent woman simply trying to get to her destination is an attack on the American way of life," said Russ Ferguson, the U.S. attorney for the Western District of North Carolina.
"Of course, crimes like this affect the victim the most — Iryna deserves justice, and we will bring justice to her and her family. But crimes like this also affect everyone who relies on mass transportation to get to and from work and go about their daily lives, and federal charges are necessary to protect the public and ensure confidence in our transportation systems," Ferguson added.
President Donald Trump noted in a Truth Social post on Monday that Zarutska's alleged killer "was a well known career criminal, who had been previously arrested and released on CASHLESS BAIL in January, a total of 14 TIMES. What the hell was he doing riding the train, and walking the streets? Criminals like this need to be LOCKED UP."
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‘Operation Midway Blitz’: Trump administration launches Chicago ICE surge
President Donald Trump launched a law enforcement surge in Illinois this week to crack down on illegal immigration.
The Department of Homeland Security explained that “Operation Midway Blitz” was named in honor of Katie Abraham, a 20-year-old who was killed in January in a hit-and-run drunk driving accident caused by a criminal illegal alien from Guatemala.
‘That’s not war; that’s common sense.’
“This ICE operation will target the criminal illegal aliens who flocked to Chicago and Illinois because they knew Governor Pritzker and his sanctuary policies would protect them and allow them to roam free on American streets,” the DHS wrote in a social media post. “President Trump and Secretary Noem stand with the victims of illegal alien crime while Governor Pritzker stands with criminal illegal aliens.”
— (@)
The Trump administration’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement has focused its efforts on clamping down on sanctuary jurisdictions that protect criminal illegal aliens. This new option targets individuals in Illinois, including Chicago, a sanctuary city.
“In an ICE-led operation, we are here to remove these dangerous public safety threats from American communities,” ICE remarked.
Trump slammed Pritzker for stating he does not want help from the federal government to end violent crime in Chicago.
“6 people were murdered in Chicago this weekend, 12 others were shot, and in serious condition. This would mean that over the past number of weeks, approximately 50 people were killed, and hundreds were shot, many expected to die. Governor Pritzker just stated that he doesn’t want Federal Government HELP! WHY???” Trump questioned. “I want to help the people of Chicago, not hurt them. Only the Criminals will be hurt! We can move fast and stop this madness. The City and State have not been able to do the job. People of Illinois should band together and DEMAND PROTECTION. IT IS ONLY GOING TO GET WORSE!!! ACT NOW, BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE!!!”
Trump posted an apparent AI-generated photo on Truth Social showing himself, the Chicago skyline, a fire in the background, and helicopters overhead, with the words “Chipocalypse Now.”
“‘I love the smell of deportations in the morning,’” Trump wrote. “Chicago about to find out why it’s called the Department of WAR.”
Pritzker pushed back on Trump’s claim that he wants to help the people of Chicago, citing the Truth Social post.
“‘I want to help people, not hurt them,’ says the guy who just threatened an American city with the Department of War,” the governor said.
RELATED: SCOTUS overrules lower court giving ICE a big win
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson has also rejected Trump’s offers to help the city.
“The President’s threats are beneath the honor of our nation, but the reality is that he wants to occupy our city and break our Constitution,” Johnson said. “We must defend our democracy from this authoritarianism by protecting each other and protecting Chicago from Donald Trump.”
When a reporter over the weekend asked Trump whether he was seeking to go to war with Chicago, the president corrected the record.
“We’re not going to war. We’re going to clean up our cities. We’re going to clean them up so they don’t kill five people every weekend. That’s not war; that’s common sense,” Trump declared.
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Bobby Powell gave his last breath working to expose Jan. 6 corruption
Michigan radio journalist Bobby Powell poured his heart into finding and telling the truth about suspicious actors at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6. Sadly, his heart gave out before he could finish his work.
Bobby suffered nine heart attacks after Jan. 6. It would not be hyperbole to suggest that Jan. 6 killed Bobby Powell. He predicted it would. He was 61.
‘I refuse to let the history I recorded on January 6th slide down the rabbit hole.’
It was that ninth heart attack that took his life at about 1:30 a.m. on Sept. 4, just weeks after he wrote me an email titled, “Final Thoughts.” We never got the chance to do the interview I requested after reading his final note.
“Well, I’m just about down to my last breath, and I refuse to let the history I recorded on January 6th slide down the rabbit hole,” Powell wrote on Aug. 11. “They’ve tried to bribe me, kill me, and maybe even had a hand in inducing a few of those heart attacks I’ve had.”
Since Bobby died destitute, his son Adam asked the Jan. 6 community to help pay for funeral expenses. In just two days, Adam’s crowdfunding campaign raised $23,000.
Bobby was passionate and outspoken about what he witnessed on the east patio of the Capitol on Jan. 6. His frustration grew when it seemed almost no one wanted to hear about the two suspicious actors he captured on video.
He could be gruff. In one of my stories, I called him “grizzled.” I think he wore that like a badge of honor. He spent more than $20,000 and sacrificed his health trying to get the word out about these provocateurs.
Bobby Powell tells his Jan. 6 tale to Joseph Hanneman in “The Real Story of Jan. 6 Part II: The Long Road Home.”
As soon as Bobby began seeking media coverage for his Jan. 6 work, he was demonetized on social media, where he published a blog called “The Truth Is Viral.” That drop in income forced him to sell his Michigan home and live in an RV in Florida.
He said a prominent Michigan Republican Party official offered him $200,000 to go away. When Bobby refused, he was threatened that if he didn't put a lid on his Jan. 6 fedsurrection talk, he could be killed. For this reason, he moved around a lot from campground to campground in Florida, always looking over his shoulder.
I hope the many politicians and media figures who rebuffed, scorned, or ignored him since Jan. 6 are now inspired to take a look at the evidence he left behind. The silence from them, the FBI, and the Justice Department speaks loudly — even more so now that Bobby's voice has been stilled.
‘I swore that I would tell the truth to my last breath, no matter what the cost.’
Maybe the new Jan. 6 Select Subcommittee chaired by Rep. Barry Loudermilk (R-Ga.) will investigate the men Bobby suspected were fed provocateurs.
In the Aug. 11 email, Bobby's last message to me was a warning.
“You’re a good man, Joe. You’ve been there for me when many others didn’t have the intestinal fortitude to do the right thing and speak truth to power,” Bobby wrote. “Unfortunately, I cannot say that about many other ‘MAGA Influencers,’ politicians, or so-called ‘journalists.’”
During my first interview with him in 2022, Bobby shed tears. This tough Marine Corps veteran broke down over the phone — simply because I said that I believed him. His story rang true because it is true. He was beyond relieved to have a new ally. I wrote about his efforts many times over the next three years.
January 6 was supposed to be Bobby's last assignment before he retired after more than three decades in radio journalism. He hosted his own podcast, “The Truth Is Viral,” and was host of “Your Defending Fathers” on WCHY-FM 97.7 in Cheboygan, Michigan.
Little did he know as he filmed the crowd around the famous Columbus Doors at the U.S. Capitol the gravity of what he was witnessing. He emailed me in 2022:
Two men I recorded attacking the building in separate incidents, smashing a window and pushing people inside the East Entrance doors, have not been arrested, nor are they on the list of suspects being sought by the FBI.
That remains the case today. Neither bad actor — dressed suspiciously like plainclothes federal agents — has been publicly identified, arrested, or prosecuted.
It was not for lack of trying on his part. In January 2021, Bobby contacted the FBI and its Joint Terrorism Task Force. He offered a copy of the 29 minutes of high-definition video he shot on Jan. 6. They never called back.
Bobby was filming the crowds on the east patio of the Capitol at about 2:15 p.m. on Jan. 6 when Hunter Allen Ehmke jumped on a window sill and began smashing the glass. Ehmke was later arrested, convicted, and ordered to serve four months in jail.
‘Be careful who you trust, Joe. Wolves in sheep’s clothing are all around us.’
When Bobby spun around with his camera, he caught the man as he pulled out a large section of the tempered glass and dropped it on the ground.
Minutes later, when Bobby was approaching the entrance to the giant Columbus Doors, another man dressed in tactical clothing placed a hand on his back and shoved him intothe foyer. That man was holding open one of the doors with a heavy wooden rod.
Bobby personally handed thumb drives with video of these incidents to prominent Republicans in Congress and scores of media celebrities and influencers. Only a few gave his story the attention it deserved — if any attention at all.
Trying to engage with the self-appointed “Sedition Hunters” in late 2002, Bobby asked them why his two feds were not on the Sedition Hunters’ website. Bobby made up hashtags for the two provocateurs: #CapitolGlassMan and #CapitolDoorman.
Sedition Hunters eventually put up a page with photos of the GlassMan. They even claimed to know his name, but no one was ever arrested.
Joseph M. Hanneman
Missing CCTV video
One of the topics we were going to discuss in our final interview was a gap in the Capitol Police CCTV security video from inside the Columbus Doors.
The missing footage should have shown #CapitolDoorman holding the huge ornate doors open with a wooden pole and pushing protesters inside the Capitol. This footage was somehow missing from the video from Camera 7029 published online by the Republican House Subcommittee on Oversight.
This was a great find by the intrepid Marine. The gap in video has not yet been solved. That is a project I will take on in Bobby’s memory.
During his final two years, Bobby got bowled over by two hurricanes. Before one of them, he emailed me that his RV was hunkered down in an alley between two brick buildings in the Tampa area. Hurricane Debby flooded his RV in August 2024. After that storm, Bobby and a neighbor used his boat to rescue a 90-year-old man and his caregiver from the floodwaters.
“On the bright side, I have a roof over my head, air-conditioning, internet, and I’m not dead yet,” he wrote me in an Oct. 2 email. “Compared to others, I have a lot to be thankful for.”
Bobby's heart was badly scarred and less able to pump effectively every day. He knew his time was growing short.
Not much heart muscle
“My cardiologist said my heart is about 30% muscle and 70% scar tissue that doesn’t beat at all,” he wrote in late 2024. “I asked why I was out of breath all of the time, and she told me, ‘Because every step you take is like carrying a 250-pound man on your back. Your heart has to pump twice as hard whenever you do anything.’”
Even with that challenge, Bobby was determined to forge ahead with his work. He attended the Capitol premiere of my documentary “The Real Story of Jan. 6 Part II: The Long Road Home.” He recorded a testimonial for our producers after the screening.
Bobby testified in several Jan. 6 trials in Washington. He was kept out of others by DOJ prosecutors who didn't want federal juries to see his fedsurrection footage. The court cases gave him an outlet to keep sharing his story. It also took a heavier toll on his health.
“My cardiologist tells me that every day I wake up is a gift from God,” he wrote on Aug. 11, 2025. “I’m still limited in my abilities, but I think I can handle a call-in show I’m planning; until I can’t.”
In December 2022, he wrote me from his hospital bed after Jan. 6 heart attack No. 4.
“This is number four since J6, five total in the last three years,” he said. “And it’s the last one I will survive.”
Bobby said both atria of his heart were badly damaged by the attack. He had to wear a defibrillator jacket until a permanent defibrillator could be implanted.
After we filmed a documentary interview in his RV near Terra Ceia, Fla., in November 2022, we talked about his Christian faith. I gave him a blessed challenge coin designed by my friend Father Richard Heilman. The coin had been touched to a relic of the True Cross of Christ, which makes it a third-class relic.
One side of the coin has the image of St. Michael the Archangel with the Latin phrase Defende Nos in Proelio (Defend Us in Battle). The other side has a likeness of St. Joseph holding the Child Jesus, with the Latin phrase Sancte Joseph Castissimi • Terror Daemonum, noting Joseph's warrior title as the Terror of Demons.
Bobby understood as well as anyone that we are engaged in spiritual warfare. As St. Paul wrote in Ephesians 6:
Put you on the armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the deceits of the devil. For our wrestling is not against flesh and blood; but against principalities and powers, against the rulers of the world of this darkness, against the spirits of wickedness in the high places.
Bobby said he tried to live his life every day for Christ. In his final email to me, he wrote of regret for not teaching his daughter more about Jesus.
“I could never speak to her about Christ’s love for us,” he wrote. “She’d just look at me with her big, beautiful eyes and say, ‘Oh Daddy, you know I don’t believe in that.’"
“I thought I would have plenty of time to teach her about Christ, but she died at just 24 from an idiopathic heart attack.”
Bobby said his hurt and regret fueled a commitment that drove his Jan. 6 work.
“I lifted her ashes to the heavens and swore to Almighty God that I would never be afraid to tell the truth again for fear of being called a ‘conspiracy theorist’ or a ‘kook,’ even though all of my conspiracy theories turned out to be true," he wrote.
“I swore that I would tell the truth to my last breath, no matter what the cost.”
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Trump’s DOJ cracks down on defiant sanctuary city mayor shielding illegal aliens
The Trump administration's Department of Justice is taking legal action against another sanctuary jurisdiction.
The DOJ filed a lawsuit on Thursday against Boston, contending that the city's sanctuary status interferes with the federal government's immigration enforcement.
'If Boston won't protect its citizens from illegal alien crime, this Department of Justice will.'
The agency accused Democrat Mayor Michelle Wu, who recently reaffirmed her support of sanctuary policies, of "repeatedly" shielding criminal illegal aliens from federal immigration agents and endangering public safety.
"In a recent letter to Attorney General Pamela J. Bondi, Mayor Wu went so far as to say that 'Boston will never back down' from its sanctuary city policies," the DOJ's lawsuit read. "Cities cannot obstruct the Federal Government from enforcing immigration laws. When that occurs, a city breaks the law. The City of Boston is doing just that."
The department argued that the city's sanctuary policies, specifically the Boston Trust Act, are illegal under federal law. The act prevents local law enforcement and other city departments from cooperating with Immigration and Customs Enforcement's detainer requests.
RELATED: ‘Flood the zone’: ICE fires back at Boston Mayor Wu’s sanctuary defiance
The lawsuit against Boston is part of the DOJ's greater effort to take legal action against sanctuary policies nationwide. The department previously filed complaints in New York, New Jersey, and California.
"The City of Boston and its Mayor have been among the worst sanctuary offenders in America — they explicitly enforce policies designed to undermine law enforcement and protect illegal aliens from justice," Bondi said. "If Boston won't protect its citizens from illegal alien crime, this Department of Justice will."
RELATED: Boston mayor vows to continue resisting Trump's deportation efforts
Wu responded to the lawsuit by declaring that the city "will not yield."
"This is our city, and we will vigorously defend our laws and the constitutional rights of cities, which have been repeatedly upheld in courts across the country. We will not yield," Wu stated.
"This unconstitutional attack on our city is not a surprise," Wu continued. "Boston is a thriving community, the economic and cultural hub of New England, and the safest major city in the country — but this administration is intent on attacking our community to advance their own authoritarian agenda."
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The Ticketmaster scam Trump vows to crush
If you’ve ever tried to buy tickets to a major concert or sporting event, you know the scam. You spend hours in a “virtual queue,” only to watch tickets vanish in seconds. Scalpers and bots scoop up thousands, then flip them for double or triple the price. Fans refresh their browsers over and over, while Ticketmaster and its parent company, Live Nation, pocket the profits.
It’s a racket, and for decades the people who keep live entertainment alive — ordinary fans — have paid the price.
Fans don’t want excuses. They want a system that works for them, not one designed to funnel cash into a corporate machine while leaving families priced out.
That’s why President Trump plans to unveil a ticket reform package this month. His proposal promises to take on the corporate monopoly that dominates the industry and restore fairness to fans.
The problem is straightforward: Live Nation and Ticketmaster control roughly 70% of the ticketing and live events business — and about 80% of the primary ticketing market. According to the Justice Department, that dominance has allowed the conglomerate to dictate what fans can buy, what they must pay, and who gets access at all.
As Trump FTC Commissioner Mark Meador explained last year, “Live Nation Ticketmaster created a dominant conglomerate with an unprecedented amount of control over the live ticketing market, resulting in monopoly power it has used to entrench its position in the marketplace.”
Fans lose twice under this scheme. They pay outrageous fees when Ticketmaster sells the tickets the first time. Then they pay again when scalpers resell them — because Ticketmaster takes another cut.
Trump’s plan should target the obvious abuses by cracking down on bots that grab tickets before real people even have a chance, establishing distribution systems that treat fans fairly, and encouraging competition in a market currently controlled by one corporate behemoth.
Those reforms would finally level the playing field. But Live Nation-Ticketmaster has other ideas. The company now wants government-imposed price caps on resale tickets — a move that sounds like “reform” but would entrench its monopoly even further.
RELATED: It’s time to join the fight and expose Ticketmaster
Former Trump Justice Department official Brian Pandya warned that such price controls would bankrupt Ticketmaster’s smaller rivals, eliminating competition altogether. Meanwhile, the $38 billion conglomerate could take the hit, since it also profits from artist management, promotion, and the 400-plus venues it controls nationwide. Price caps would squeeze everyone else out while leaving the monopoly stronger than ever.
The better path is obvious: Open up the marketplace. Strengthen enforcement against ticket bots. Redirect regulations to protect fans, not corporations. And if necessary, break up the Live Nation-Ticketmaster monopoly entirely.
Fans don’t want excuses. They want a system that works for them, not one designed to funnel cash into a corporate machine while leaving families priced out of concerts, plays, and ball games.
Trump’s plan could finally deliver that. For once, fans might win — and the monopoly might lose.
The New York Times rewrites history while Jan. 6 families pay the price
The New York Times recently published an article attempting to recast the events of Jan. 6, 2021, through the lens of prosecutors who lost their jobs following President Donald Trump's return to the Oval Office. The piece depicts these lawyers as martyrs in a political purge, forced to leave behind diplomas and personal items as though they were casualties of injustice.
Yet this framing fundamentally ignores the real devastation that flowed from the government's handling of January 6: families destroyed, children traumatized, and ordinary Americans subjected to years of aggressive and politicized prosecution.
Prosecutors were not martyrs. They were the instruments of a system that made martyrs out of ordinary citizens.
Those of us who have worked directly with these families have seen firsthand the long-term impact of the Department of Justice's unprecedented approach. History cannot be rewritten to cast prosecutors as victims while erasing the lives they targeted from public memory.
The forgotten victims
The most overlooked victims of January 6 have been the children of defendants. These young people endured traumatic government raids that remain etched into their memories. Many remember predawn operations when flash-bang devices exploded inside their homes.
They recall doors being battered down, glass shattering, and heavily armed agents entering their bedrooms. They watched their mothers cry, attempting to hold families together as fathers were taken away in handcuffs. In certain cases, both parents were removed, leaving children to wonder if they would ever see their families whole again.
This was not a foreign dictatorship. It happened in the United States. These tactics, carried out against families who posed no threat, inflicted deep and lasting harm on innocent children. Yet the prosecutors who initiated these cases are now presented as political casualties.
That is an inversion of reality. They were not martyrs. They were the instruments of a system that made martyrs out of ordinary citizens.
The tragedy of Matthew Perna
The case of Matthew Perna illustrates the human toll of this prosecutorial overreach. Perna entered the Capitol, recorded video, and left without committing violence or destruction. Nevertheless, prosecutors pursued severe charges against him, including the application of a "terrorism enhancement" that would have drastically increased his sentence. Media outlets amplified the narrative, branding him as a threat to the nation.
The weight of this combined persecution proved too much for Perna. Before sentencing, he took his own life. His story exposes both the cruelty of the government’s approach and the complicity of media institutions that reinforced it. Today, prosecutors involved in such cases seek sympathy for their professional losses, while families like Matthew's continue to grieve irreparable personal losses.
An egregious double standard
The broader context highlights a political double standard. Democrats describe January 6 as one of the darkest days in American history. Yet the riots of 2020 — federal courthouses attacked, businesses destroyed, police assaulted, communities set ablaze — are routinely called “mostly peaceful.”
The murder of retired police captain David Dorn, killed on livestream while defending his community, generated little lasting outrage. Entire cities endured months of chaos, but few faced consequences comparable to the sweeping prosecutions unleashed against January 6 participants. Where were the terrorism enhancements then? Where were the years-long investigations, the solitary confinement, the relentless media coverage?
The truth is straightforward: Unrest associated with the political left is minimized or excused. Protests involving Trump supporters are magnified into terrorism. This inconsistency erodes public trust in equal justice under the law.
A critical course correction
Against this backdrop, the decisions by Attorney General Pam Bondi and special prosecutor Ed Martin should be recognized for what they are: efforts to restore fairness to a corrupt system. Bondi took decisive action to remove prosecutors who had shown an inability to separate justice from politics.
Martin, who himself witnessed the events of January 6, understood that Americans cannot be criminalized simply for supporting a particular political movement. His leadership in ending the ongoing persecution of defendants brought accountability to those who had turned prosecutions into a political weapon.
The New York Times calls this a "purge." A more accurate description is a course correction — an attempt to re-establish integrity in the Department of Justice and reaffirm that justice must not serve partisan ends.
The true victims of January 6 were not federal prosecutors. They were the more than 1,500 Americans caught in the dragnet of politicized charges. They were the families left bankrupt and broken. They were the children who still wake with nightmares of flash-bangs and broken doors. They were people like Matthew Perna, who lost hope under the crushing weight of unjust treatment.
They were also President Trump, the first lady, their son Barron, and allies who endured years of politicized investigations, predawn raids, tanks in neighborhoods, and heavily armed SWAT teams at their doors. These were the consequences of a government determined to use its vast powers not against criminals, but against political opponents.
Setting history straight
We must ensure that these truths are not forgotten. We cannot allow prosecutors to rewrite history by presenting themselves as martyrs. We cannot permit the suffering of families, the cries of children separated from their parents, or the suicide of Matthew Perna to be erased from public consciousness.
Justice in America must return to its foundational principle: fairness for all citizens, regardless of political affiliation. Until that principle is restored, we must continue to speak out and to stand with those whose lives were devastated by the misuse of government power.
This is not about revenge. It is about truth. It is not about politics. It is about families. And it is not about power. It is about ensuring that no American child ever again experiences the terror of waking to flash-bangs, shattered doors, and the loss of their parents over politics.
DOJ exposes 'black and white evidence' that Biden admin knew autopenned pardons were legally flawed
The Oversight Project obtained damning internal emails this week from the Justice Department revealing a high-level understanding in the Biden administration that the autopenned commutations issued on Jan. 17 in the former president's name were legally flawed.
In addition to showcasing former Associate Deputy Attorney General Bradley Weinsheimer's legal concerns, the emails provided by U.S. Pardon Attorney Ed Martin's office reveal that the Biden administration apparently misled the nation about the violent criminal nature of the individuals who received commutations.
'You should stop saying that because it is untrue or at least misleading.'
Mike Howell, president of the Oversight Project, told Blaze News, "This represents the first written black and white evidence of fundamental disagreement in the Biden camp as it relates to the pardon strategy writ large."
"Obviously, this is particularized to the warrants for the commutations of people they never should have let out of jail — but it's the senior-most career lawyer in the DOJ, like [Merrick] Garland's top guy, basically saying, 'WTF are you guys doing? This is illegal,'" said Howell.
Howell suggested further that the potentially unlawful nature of the commutations is cause to keep imprisoned those whose sentences were commuted and who are scheduled to be released.
For those felons who received clemency and are no longer behind bars, the Oversight Project president said, "They should rearrest them."
A Jan. 17, 2025, statement attributed to Biden characterizes the recipients of the commutations as felons "convicted of non-violent drug offenses."
The emails obtained by the Oversight Project reportedly show that Weinsheimer, a 34-year department veteran, took issue with this apparent lie, noting that "in the communications about the commutations, the White House has described those who received commutations as people of non-violent drug offenses. I think you should stop saying that because it is untrue or at least misleading."
RELATED: Biden tried defending autopen use to the New York Times. He made it a whole lot worse.
"I do not think it is close to accurate to describe all the clemency recipients as those convicted of non-violent drug offenses," apparently added the former DOJ official.
'I have no idea if the President was aware of these backgrounds when making clemency decisions.'
The 2,490 federal inmates who received the commutations are a motley crew of thugs, including murderers and violent drug dealers.
Among them:
- Terrence Richardson and Ferrone Claiborne, whose drug-trafficking offenses led to the death of a police officer;
- Russell McIntosh, a thug who gunned down a woman who threatened to expose his drug enterprise along with her 2-year-old child;
- Adrian Peeler, sentenced for conspiracy to commit murder involving the slaying of an 8-year-old witness and his mother; and
- Plaze Anderson, a former high-ranking member of the Gangster Disciples who was personally involved in two murders, an attempted murder and kidnapping, and obstruction of justice.
Weinsheimer added that based on limited review, the DOJ identified 19 inmates under consideration for clemency who were "highly problematic," as that list included "violent offenders, including those who committed acts of violence during the offense of conviction, or who otherwise have a history of violence such that it is misleading to suggest they are non-violent drug offenders," the email showed.
Sixteen of those 19 problematic felons received grants of clemency in Biden's name, and their commutations were characterized as "progress towards justice" by the American Civil Liberties Union.
"I have no idea if the President was aware of these backgrounds when making clemency decisions," Weinsheimer wrote. "The Department was largely excluded from the process, which we otherwise opposed."
The emails revealed that not only were the commutations opposed internally and not as advertised — they were likely unlawful.
Blaze News has reached out to Weinsheimer and the ACLU for comment.
RELATED: Don’t let the Biden autopen scandal become just another lame hearing
Three clemency warrants were apparently issued on Jan. 17. The second of the three warrants awarded clemency to criminals for "offenses described to the Department of Justice."
Weinsheimer and others at the DOJ seemingly had trouble making heads or tails of the warrant and its legality, as no offenses were actually described.
The emails show a fight to get a list of the criminals' offenses — specifically those for which they were receiving commutations — amid mounting questions from courts, congressional staff, and the criminals' families.
'Because no offenses have been described to the Department from the President, the commutations do not take effect.'
In a Jan. 18 email to his DOJ colleagues at the Pardon Attorney's Office as well as to the White House Counsel's Office, Weinsheimer noted, "I think the language 'offenses described to the Department of Justice' in the warrant is highly problematic and in order to resolve its meaning appropriately, and consistent with the President’s intent, we will need a statement or direction from the President as to how to interpret the language."
— (@)
Weinsheimer suggested that the "clearest and least problematic way" of curing the apparent legal error was for Biden to explain his meaning and to provide a "list as to each inmate listing the offenses that are covered by the commutation."
The DOJ official identified three other ways to deal with the apparent legal error.
The DOJ could interpret the warrant to apply to "all federal offenses for which the inmate is under sentence" — an interpretation the Bureau of Prisons was reportedly likely to use. Weinsheimer warned, however, that such an interpretation would likely result in the commutations of sentences for violent felons, which Biden may not have wanted, and would render the qualifying language "superfluous."
RELATED: Jill Biden's 'shadowy' chief of staff clams up during autopen probe
Alternatively, the DOJ could interpret "offenses described to the Department" on the basis of "the U.S. Sentencing Commission Spreadsheets" — the nature and contents of which are presently unclear. According to the emails, Weinsheimer again expressed concern, suggesting that "it is a guess as to what is meant by the warrant language, and [that interpretation] goes beyond the four corners of the warrant, something we do not normally do."
The final way Weinsheimer identified was not to act on the commutations: "Because no offenses have been described to the Department from the President, the commutations do not take effect."
'It's time for legal action based on autopen.'
Weinsheimer noted further that "describing offenses to the Department is a condition precedent to the commutations being effective, and without description, they do not take effect. I have no idea what interpretation the incoming [Trump] Administration will give to the warrant, but they may find this interpretation attractive, as it gives effect to the language but does not go beyond the four corners of the warrant."
The Oversight Project noted that while "pardoning via category is already an illegal delegation of a nondelegable power," that Weinsheimer email "illustrates that the government officials charged with executing the president's delegated orders on January 17, 2025, Warrant 2 had no idea what the president actually ordered."
Howell told Blaze News that the revelations in the emails provide the administration and lawmakers with an "angle to attack."
Howell said that President Donald Trump, who has already declared all of the autopen pardons null and void, can now say, "We're not honoring these commutations. You know who agrees with us? Biden's DOJ."
"Again, for the first time, we have written evidence of the disagreement," said Howell. "So there's no reason to sit around and wait. It's time for legal action based on autopen."
Editor's note: Mike Howell is a contributor to Blaze News.
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